Must Sees during Milan 2013

With the Milan Design Week fast approaching, this year once again sees top manufacturers and some of the most promising designers from around the world display their designs and products.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile will take place between the 9th - 14th of April this year with many events taken place around Milan along side the main event.

We have decided to give you a sneak peek of some of the top events we would recommend visiting if your lucky enough to be going.

British designer Tom Dixon is back again this year with MOST at the Museum of Science and Technology. MOST provides a curated creative hub, promoting forward-thinking culture, commerce and creativity against the extraordinary backdrop of historic exhibits based on technological innovation. Brands showing include Tom Dixon together with Piet Hein Eek, Saunder Muler and online design brands, Designboom, Dwell and FAB. The brand showing will be exploring new materials, technologies, production techniques and distribution systems to the public. The space will also cater for the thirsty public with Tom Dixon’s Grand British Tea House situated in the shop space. Dixons new "Eclectic Tea Set" will be used to serve out tea and lunch to the public.


Showing also this year, are Dutch company Moooi. Moooi have prepared an entire collection of refreshing new designs and surprising experiences that will be held at Savona 56 from the 8th to the 14th. Moooi is taking up residence in the space and transforming it into a stylish assembly of colourful living quarters, new product displays, lounges together with an artistic exhibition. As well as their own products, the FRAME Moooi award nominees will also be on display with an exclusive ceremony and VIP cocktail evening included to mark the occasion.
 

Designs by Moooi

New on during this years Milan design week is a special collection of `New British` design showcasing at the Vivienne Westwood flagship store in Corso, Venezia. The design installation has been the collaborative work of the British fashion designer and one of the biggest design brands during London Design Week, 100% Design.  The installation will provide evidence of a revived focus amongst these young designers on craftsmanship, high quality materials and skills, sustainability and innovative design solutions which are timeless and charming to the fore. Amongst other’s you’ll find works by Plant & Moss, James Smith Designs, Young & Norgate, Decode London, and Bethan Gray.

G&T table by Be than Gray

Karim Rashid for Sancal

Award winning designer Karim Rashid has launched yet another furniture collection, this time with Spainish manufacturer Sancal. The "Float" sofa was launched at this years Milan Furniture Fair in April. The sofa features sensibilty with an element of fun through the use of colour and finishes choosen which are signature to Rashids designs. The "Float" is composed of rounded, colorful modular arms and headrests which intersect into a high back, creating a single composition which appears to be floating above the ground.

Mercedes-Benz Do Furniture

Mercedes-Benz showcased their first collection of furniture at this years Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile. The furniture designed by Mercedes is part of their “Style” collection designed and produced for Italian design company Formitalia. The various pieces of furniture reflect the progressive, dynamic design of their current show cars and concept vehicles, offering an exclusive, emotional experience outside their vehicles and into seating for the domestic and commercial inetrior sectors.

Lenny Kravitz Interior and Furniture Range

Singer, songwriter and actor Lenny Kravitz has collaborated with Italian furniture company Kartell to create a collection of chairs influenced by the Phillippe Starcks iconic "Mademoiselle" armchair. The Kartell and Kravitz collection was showcased at this years Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile. The iconic armchair has been given a rockstar edge by using materials such as python, leather and fur highly influenced by Kravitz own style.
Aswell as collaborating with Kartell, Kravitz has also designed a range of black and white tiles inspired by water drops and waves for Lea Ceramiche. These tiles were also showcased at this years Milan Furniture Fair.

Stools shaped by Magnetic Fields

Dutch graduate designer Jólan van der Wiel showcased an incredible set of stools shaped using magnetic fields and the force of gravity at the "Transnatural" exhibition during the Milan furniture Fair. The stools were made by placing a combination of iron and plastic between strong magnets that pull the material into unique and organic shapes.
"The Gravity Stools" take their unique shape thanks to the cooperation between magnetic fields and the power of gravity. Inspired by the idea that everything is influenced by gravitation, a force that has a strong shaping effect, he intended to manipulate this natural phenomenon by exploiting its own power of magnetism. The positioning of the magnetic fields in the machine, opposing eachother, has largely determined the final shape of the Gravity Stool.

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Liquid Wood Furniture

Liquid Wood is a new furniture material promising to be environmentally friendly using readily available raw materials that are renewable and is said to be 100% recyclable. Italian furniture maker Calligaris has introduced a chair made from this Liquid Wood material, a composite biomaterial consisting of polymer and wood which was showcased at last weeks Milan Furniture Design Fair 2012.
The Liquid Wood is moulded like a normal thermoplastic polymer allowing for versatility and high performance in terms of durability, resistance and flexibility within the product. The material is mainly composed of lignin and cellulose, which are found in the cells of plants. SKIN is Calligaris first product made of Liquid Wood. The collection of chairs that make up SKIN feature a simple and minimalist design which are easily stackable and suitable for outdoor use.

Trending in Milan 2012

We are mid way through The Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile for 2012. Heres an overview of whats been trending the past 3days.

The ‘LygoLamp’ by the Netherlands based company Studio Mango is the latest installation in their collection. The lamp comes in flat pack form, just like boxes of LEGO. The packages come with 12 dozen LEGO blocks and all the necessary electrical equipment to create this elegant new lighting fixture. The hanging circular lamp comes in a variety of different colors to incoporate into any contemporary layout.

"Endless" by Dirk Van Der Kooij is a collection of chairs designed using a robot he trained. Considering the high investments for complicated moulds that have to be made for processes similar to this one, hedeveloped a system which enables automatic production independent from the object’s design. He taught the robot a new craft involving drawing furniture out of one endlessly long plastic string.

Designed by Italian furniture designer Fabio Novembre, 36h and 56h chairs have been created for Driade. Designed around the childhood memory of making home made pasta with his grand mother, Novembre gives these chairs a fluidity which works hand in hand with the natural outdoors. Composed of an aluminium frame and covered in a woven plastic makes this collection of outdoor seating very durable and weather resistant.

British designer Ross Lovegrove has collabirated with Italian lighting company Artemide  for this new collection of lighting designs. The first piece, "Nebula" is generated from advanced parametric scripting.

It is enclosed in a circular painted aluminum LED ring, a diffuser which is sculpted from thermoplastic material, accentuates the organic forms as it captures the surrounding light.
This lighting design can be mounted on the ceiling or the wall, alone or in clusters to create an installation.

"Selvedge" is a collection of armchairs designed by U.K based design studio Raw Edges for Kvadrat. These chairs are designed to celebrate the scraps of fabric normally disgarded by the Danish fabric and textile company Kvadrat. These pieces of fabric known as selvedge are usually found lining the borders of a textile while on a roll, the selvedge is cut and not included as a part of the end product. Using the linear elements of the "Hallingdal 65", they stretch it to dictate the form and structure of an armchair.

Hilla Shamia "Wood Casting"

“Wood Casting” designed by Israeli based product designer Hilla Shamia went on show at Milan Design Week this year.  Designed and made using cast aluminum and tree trunk, the hot aluminum is poured onto wood allowing Shamia to preserve the natural form of the piece while still having distinct boundaries in its creation. The metal material along with the square shape allow a sense of artificiality while preserving the memory of the natural wood material. “The negative factor of burnt wood is transformed into a natural aesthetic and the value of the pieces".